Chapter 25

Karl watched Ely walk off on CPO Elgin’s arm, then turned to re-enter the tent, walking directly over to the table where Davis was still seated.

“Any changes?” he asked, hoping something to have developed from Davis’ study of the interviews.

“We’ve sent off a request to Esquimalt to have the prisoners questioned about time and date.” Davis told him. “I’m afraid that most of the information we have gotten has been from Bonetti. Doc Iverson seems to have been either asleep, unconscious, or under the influence of drugs most of the time that they were here. For instance he said your boat was in the middle of the bay when they arrived and our men reported that from the looks of her, she hadn’t been moved in weeks.”

“Oh for cripes sake, she’s tied close to a cedar tree, one nights rain and she’d be covered in crap, so forget about judging time by the junk on her decks,” Karl said shortly. “The ‘Skolka’ was moored in the middle of the bay, only a couple of days ago. We towed her to the dock when we heard about the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, just in case things got rough. We felt she would be safe there and yet we could still get aboard her in case of a bad earthquake. That means they were here before we towed her in though, hell, it was the next day that Keri got raped, so I’m positive that they were here before that.”

“Iverson said there were noises and lights on the boat early on the first night they were there. But he also said the boat disappeared overnight the next night.”

“That’s possible, Ely and I have worked on it too, you know, sometimes at night. Right now I’ve got the burner out, and I’ve been trying to get her back into running condition. Let me think,” he paused and frowned. “The last night there was anyone aboard would have been ... three nights ago, I think, or before that, maybe? No, that would be it, three nights ago, maybe four at the most. To be honest in all the confusion I’ve lost track of the number of days, but it would have to have been either one or the other.”

“So, we have a rough date,” Davis grinned in triumph. “Now, for a time. It has to be in the morning, but according to them it was late in the day.”

“Why does it have to be in the morning?”

“Because that’s when two of our ships damn near caught them just offshore, on the other side of the island.”

“And they couldn’t have hidden from you?” Karl smiled slyly. “What if, by chance, the boat you were chasing was made out of wood?”

“Oh, I see, that would produce an indistinct profile on radar,” Davis nodded. “You’re thinking that they tucked in near shore and didn’t move, which would mean our radar would confuse the signal from them with background reflection. Then since it was pouring down rain and visibility was poor, we’d have difficulty visually pinpointing the boat, especially if it was dark coloured. For cripes sake, I’ll wager they managed to blend their boat right into the background of the bloody island and fooled all of our high tech equipment by being low tech and sneaky. Now, why didn’t we think of that? It’s obvious as hell, now that I think about it.”

“Well, I have an advantage, because I own a wooden boat. All that reflects radar well on her is the stack and the shape of that confuses some radar receivers. I have to run a radar reflector up the mast in bad weather to be sure I can be seen.”

“Okay, perhaps we’re not as dumb as I was trying to make us out to be,” Davis sighed. “So, they could have tried to come into the bay on a late afternoon or early evening tide.”

“Yep, and from what Bonetti said, there was an incoming tide that virtually sucked them into the cut, which means it was an incoming tidal rip. Either three or four days ago there would have been a really heavy rip in the cut just about the time the sun was setting. When there’s a heavy rip tide combined with a full flow from the stream, a really weird current pattern develops in the bay. You’d have to see a depth chart for the bay, but that time factor really limits where the wreck would end up. That boat has to have sunk in less than fifty feet of water, especially if it went down as fast as Bonetti said it did.”

“Could you explain that?”

“Well, I’d have to draw a picture of the bay. Got a pencil and paper I could use?”

“I have an overhead picture of the bay here that you can use,” Dave Peacock spoke up, leafing through a pile of papers. “Here you are sir.”

“Thanks Dave,” Karl nodded at him as he laid the picture on the table and pointed with a pencil that had suddenly appeared beside his hand. “See this little island just near the entrance to the cut? Well, it’s actually part of an underwater ridge that extends out toward the lowland side of the bay and it directs the incoming current over toward that shoreline. Behind that ridge, there’s an underwater ledge that sits only fifty feet or so down and stretches from the ridge to the far bank of the bay. Salt water rushing in with the tide is swung by the ridge toward the lowland, where the crooks were hiding, as it flows along the top of that underwater ledge. Meanwhile, the water pouring down the stream is trying to go the other direction along the bank and almost dead against the incoming current. The two opposing flows cause waves and whirlpools, but almost everything gets washed toward the lowland side of the bay. Anything floating actually ends up on the mud there eventually, if it isn’t washed down the cut on the outgoing tide, and that actually explains why the crooks ended up over there.”

He paused and stood up straighter, making a small circle on the picture. “I’ll bet the boat is right around here, no more than forty or fifty feet down.”

Davis smiled. “Great.”

Then his face changed and he looked quizzical. “Just what happens in that area when the tide is flowing outward?”

“Then the stream flows right along the shore. It actually picks up some of the lighter floating junk and carries it toward the cut. The rest of the bay seems to slowly develop a clockwise motion too and everything floating out in the bay ends up either being carried into the cut or floating over toward the lowland marsh. Then after the tide changes the flow pattern changes too, a lot of the stuff in the middle gets worked over to that same low shoreline again.”

“And the heavier stuff just sinks, I suppose?”

“I don’t know, I suppose so. Why?”

“It’s just a matter of knowledge concerning the bay. The problem with something on this order is that we don’t know the long term effects of what has happened,” Davis sighed. “Now, since you feel certain that we can find the wreck in that area, what do you think our chances of finding the crate we’re seeking is?”

“Pretty damn good, I’d say,” Karl grinned.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because Chenkovich would have wanted it somewhere safe, yet easy to get to. To start with, after being in one shipwreck, I doubt if he’d have had it stowed anywhere below decks. I’m willing to bet that it was either tied down on deck, or it would have been in the corner of the cabin. It would definitely have been where he could easily keep an eye on it. Now, if he knew it was leaking radioactivity, it would have been outside with a tarp over it. If he didn’t know, it might have been inside, that’s if it was easy enough to get it into the cabin. You have to remember he was dealing with crooks, not willing workers; they’d try their best to take the easiest way out.”

“You think too damn much. What if it was outside and it got tossed overboard when they hit the rock slide?”

“I doubt that, but if that’s what happened it could be anywhere around the high part of the rock slide but probably toward this end of the rubble.”

“Karl, if we find that damn box because of your help, we’re going to owe you one hell of a big favour. What if we get rid of part of that rock slide for you?”

“Pardon?” Karl stared at him in surprise.

“Well, we’re going to have divers here anyway to get that box out of the water and then a hazmat team to ship it off to a safe place. It would probably be good exercise for the divers to do some underwater blasting while they were here. With the amount of water that rips through that cut, if they blast the rocks small enough, the current will shift things around and make it a lot easier for you to get in and out.”

“I have to admit, the idea did cross my mind,” Karl grinned at him. “But to be honest, I hesitated to ask about it because I know how damn dangerous it is.”

“Jesus H Christ, you still haven’t changed,” Davis said loudly. “You’ve made everyone’s life easier since we came to the island. You’ve saved people’s lives and now you’re making our search for this bloody box a hell of a lot easier. All I want to do is say thanks in a practical way. All you have to say is yes or no.”

“Yes, Don! I’m asking. Would you please have your men check out the gorge with the idea of reducing the height of the rocks from the slide that are blocking our passage. Only, please make sure they’re safe when they do it.”

Davis shook his head slowly and took a deep breath, finally he sighed and held out his hand.

“Deal! Now, I have one more favour to ask. Tomorrow morning I’ve arranged for a shallow draft jet-boat to come for us to use as a sonar boat and dive platform. I was wondering if you could go out through the cut with me in one of our inflatable boats, then guide the jet-boat back into the bay as its pilot.”

“Only if I can be at the helm of both boats when we’re underway in the cut,” Karl grinned. “By the way, how much water does that jet-boat draw?”

“Of course I want you at the helm and the boat draws less than a foot of water if its ballast tanks are empty. It should get here before high tide, about seven-thirty or eight in the morning.”

“How wide is the hull?”

“I don’t think it would be as wide as your steamboat, but it’s about the same length.”

“Perfect. Want to meet me at the dock or out here even earlier.”

“I may have to change some details between now and then. One way or another I’ll let you know tomorrow morning in enough time to arrange anything that might concern you. Okay?”

“Fine,” Karl shrugged. “That being the case, I think I’ll head up to the house. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Karl.”

“Night everyone,” he said as he walked out of the tent.

He had almost reached the darkest part of his hike to the house when he sensed, rather than heard someone near him. He wheeled around to find himself facing Winchester.

“Hi,” Winchester said very quietly. “Thought I’d let you know, Springfield’ll be okay. Just a busted bone or two in his foot an’ some bruises. Hardly enough to slow him down, he’ll be back if he can get a cast put on quick enough. An’ the doc ain’t hurt bad, just scratched ‘n bruised.”

“Thanks Winchester. Did you come from Esquimalt? I didn’t hear the chopper.”

“Nope, didn’t go. Took me ‘til now to hike back from the cliff.”

“And I suppose Commander Davis doesn’t know you stayed huh?”

“Prob’bly not,” Winchester winked.

“Springfield knows?”

“Unh huh. He’s my boss. It was his idea that I stayed.”

“You have a reason?”

“Unh huh.”

“I suppose you’re being intentionally secretive are you?”

“Sorta. The bushes got ears.”

“Since you snuck back, I take it you don’t want to go to the main tent for something to eat and drink. Would you like something?”

“In your house?”

“Unh huh,” Karl grunted like Winchester had.

“I could eat somethin’, I guess,” Winchester grinned.

“Hmm, the front porch light is on and I’d better leave that as it is because of the guards. Want to come to the back door a minute or two after I get inside? That way if you want to stay hidden I can let you in without anyone seeing you.”

“Sure, an’ thanks.”

Karl kept on walking as Winchester seemed to fade away into the shadows. At the house, he went inside and smiled at Ely.

“Could you make up a quick meal? We have a visitor coming in a moment.”

“A visitor, at this time? Who would...”

“Winchester, Springfield’s buddy. He came by to tell us about Springfield and the doctor. He says the doctor only has a few scratches. He’s not going into the camp openly either, but he hasn’t eaten and I offered him a meal. I thought I might get some information while being friendly. Okay?”

“Sure, I can whip up something,” she shrugged her shoulders, already moving toward the fridge as Karl went to the back door to open it.

The figure that entered was dressed in a black uniform and Ely didn’t think she had noticed him around the camp. He was about the same size as Karl, yet he gave the impression he was smaller, more nondescript somehow. It was almost like he was blending into the background, even there in the cabin. Karl waved him to a seat and sat down near him.

“Ely, this is Winchester,” Karl looked up at her.

“Hi Ma’am,” Winchester smiled. “Don’t go to a lot of trouble over the grub.”

“Hello Mr Winchester, you let me worry about how much trouble I go to, okay? Are you in a hurry?”

“No, not really Ma’am, and you can forget the mister stuff. You mighta guessed, Winchester ain’t my real name, it’s just what they call me when I’m on the job,” he shrugged.

“Fine,” she laughed softly. “Coffee?”

“Oh, yeah, I’d love a cup ‘r two,” he grinned.

“There,” she said, pouring him a cup. “Now you two talk while I heat up something to feed a hungry man.”

Karl stared at Winchester. “I’m curious, why sneak back to camp?”

“Looking for a weasel, maybe a snake, maybe somethin’ o’ both,” Winchester said, sotto voce. “Some o’ the things that happened here, shouldn’t ‘a happened. At first me an Springfield figured that L-C Greene was just screwing up, but after that fuck up when you hadta shoot that mad bastard ... Oops sorry ma’am, m’ language ain’t too good sometimes.”

“It was a fuck-up,” Ely chuckled. “And you’re doing just fine. I’ve understood every word you’ve used so far and your descriptive terms were accurate.”

“Thanks ma’am,” Winchester actually blushed. “I’ll try t’ be more careful.”

“Don’t worry too hard about it, I’ve worked in places where that was how everyone spoke. Actually if I get excited I sometimes use strong language myself, perhaps too much. Now tell us more about L-C Greene,” she said.

“Well Ma’am, it just didn’t make any sense that he should be so mad about Springfield and me goin’ off down the cliff to catch the crooks like we done, then later had us runnin’ ‘round chasing phantoms. Afterward, when Karl got to explainin’ things, we figured that’s when Chenkovich really got away. We figure we was all off in the bushes near the cliff when Chenkovich was swimmin’ out through the cut. And the capper was that Greene redid the ties on the prisoners an’ didn’t use real handcuffs. Any fool knows that plasti-cuffs will cut if you’re strong enough and patient enough, Karpikov was both. Fact is, he was strong enough t’ be bloody dangerous too. Nobody can be that da’ ... darn dumb, so we figure Greene is a crook.”

“So you’re suggesting that he may have been bribed? Or what?”

“Money will make some guys do some strange shit,” Winchester intoned.

“So what are you trying to do?” Karl asked.

‘Well, you’re buddies with the Commander and we figure he’s honest as the day is long. So we figured to get you to kinda bend his ear. We’d like you to warn him that he might have a rotten apple in his barrel. First off, ‘cause I ain’t even supposed to be here. Now, if I was ta approach him, I’d be in shit and unable to do anythin’ if I needed to. Second, because we know he’s a bit of a softy, sometimes giving a guy a second chance when he’s already screwed up bad enough t’ be in deep water. Besides that, if I sorta stay out of sight, I can be the ace in the hole, just in case somethin’ does go haywire agin.”

Ely had finished cooking an omelette, then set it and several slices of toast in front of Winchester. He paused to take one bite and then stared at Ely, his eyes suddenly brimming with tears as he chewed slowly, then swallowed.

“Ma’am, that’s the best tasting thing I’ve had in a year or more,” he said at last. “That’s got real eggs in it and this bread is home made. It’s ‘most as good as my Mom’s cookin’ was. Now that’s sayin’ somethin’ cause nobody beats Mom’s cookin’.”

“Well, thank you. Now eat up; you look like you could use it,” she beamed, sitting down at the table herself.

As Winchester ate, Karl explained to Ely about the things that he and the others had deduced about the whereabouts of the box. As he was chewing a last bite, Winchester suddenly paused and stared at Karl as if he only at that instant realized what Karl had been saying.

Swallowing loudly, he grunted and then asked. “This box, what do you know about it?”

“We’re all assuming it holds something radioactive, but we know that the shielding is imperfect, so it leaves a trace of radioactivity behind, which means it can be found underwater.” Karl explained.

“An’ you figured out where it was? Right in the main tent? Was L-C Greene there too?”

“I think so, but I’m not sure. Ely, did you notice if he was there when you were in the tent?”

“Yeah. I think he was sitting at another table sorting papers or something, why?”

They both turned to look at Winchester.

“Look, I hate to eat ‘n run, but if Greene thinks he might get caught or if he figures he might find that box hisself, he’s liable to try to do somethin’ tonight. I should be keepin’ an eye on him.”

“Oh sit down,” Karl grinned at him. “I’d be willing to bet that Don already has the same ideas you do. He’s no slouch and unlike you, I don’t think he’s soft-hearted, just a truly compassionate man. I’ve known him since I was a kid and I know from experience that it doesn’t pay to cross him. People that do that once seldom get a second chance. As for finding the box and pointing out where it is, we did that pretty well, that is if you figure that an area about a hundred yards on a side, and submerged under fifty feet of murky water, is close. If Greene is crooked, then unless he is one hell of a lucky diver, and has enough help to lift something that weighs a good three or maybe even four hundred pounds, I’m afraid he’d be S-O-L. As for running away, he’s already seen what happens to guys who try that. So I think you need to just sit back and relax in order to let you’re meal settle a bit. I’m willing to bet Greene isn’t going anywhere tonight.”

“I can’t count on that sir, and I hafta follow orders. Springfield said I should keep an eye on him, so I better go. If you’ll excuse me Ma’am, thanks for the supper,” And ignoring Karl’s protest, he rose and slipped out the back door as quietly as he had entered.

Ely stared at Karl, then sighed as she began to pick up the empty dishes from the table and put them in the sink.

“That’s an interesting take on L-C Greene’s actions,” she commented.

“The interesting part is that it seems to tie up all the loose ends concerning the way he handled things. Now if I’m supposed to get up early tomorrow, then pilot a strange boat through the cut, I think we should get some sleep.”

“Can we talk in bed?” she smiled at him.

“I imagine you will anyway,” he grinned back “Come on woman, let’s go get horizontal.”

So shutting out the lights, they climbed the stairs. She looped an arm around his waist and grinned up at his face.

“Do you know something? The way you act around danger turns me on,” she whispered.

“Hmm, do we dare play a bit before we go to sleep?” he grinned, speaking as softly as her.

“Why not?” she laughed softly.

“Well, I was wondering if it might upset either Keri or Linda?”

“Karl, we have lives to live too. I’m not about to hang a padlock on my pussy just because Keri doesn’t want any right now.”

“But will it upset her?”

“Wait a minute. Stop, right here,” she said, halting them on their way up the stairs, then turning to face Karl. “Fran said we were to carry on our lives and do things we normally would, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“For me that means sex too, dammit,” she grinned. “I’m still looking for number two.”

“Number two?”

“David is number one,” she chuckled. “Now, I want to go up the rest of these stairs, take off my clothes, get under the covers and I want you to join me in bed. Then I want you to gently, but very thoroughly, make love with me. No gymnastics, no marathons, just a nice gentle loving. I want to be spooned and have you nibble on my neck like you used to do. Okay?”

“Okay,” he laughed softly. “But only if I get to play with your boobs too.”

“I’d be annoyed if you didn’t,” she snorted, then slipped away from him to scurry up the stairs.

As she entered the bedroom, she paused and stared, stopping so fast that Karl almost bumped into her. Someone had shifted the furniture and had hung sheets to separate the room into two sections, leaving them with a private bedroom once more. She turned and grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up, then signalling quiet by putting her finger to her lips. Both of them tiptoed across the room and in a moment were slipping into bed. As Karl slid over to spoon against her back, he found that she was giggling almost silently, her body shaking gently with her amusement at the sheets that had been hung across the room.

“It is kind of funny,” he whispered.

“Kinda funny? It’s fucking hilarious,” she snorted, her voice hardly louder than his.

“Oh shut up, bitch,” Keri’s voice came across the room from behind the sheets. “We were trying to be nice to you.”

“That’s what’s so funny,” Karl snorted, unable to be quiet now. “We were going to try to be as quiet as we could so we wouldn’t disturb you.”

“Oh,” Keri said her voice almost coming out in a squeak it was so controlled.

There was a moment’s quiet and Karl managed to get one hand under Ely’s side to cup one breast. He was gently stroking her thigh with the other hand when suddenly Linda giggled. Then after a few seconds Keri laughed softly as well, but her laughter was much weaker.

“Are you two bitches watching us somehow?” Ely demanded with a giggle of her own.

“Oh no, no way,” Linda squeaked, on the verge of giggling again.

“Unh uh, we just decided it is sort of funny, in a way,” Keri added, not sounding as amused and almost apologetic.

“Oh, sorry,” Ely said, then sighed softly.

Karl knew what that sigh was for, he’d heard it before, somehow that magic moment had been lost. He snuggled tight though and whispered in her ear. “It sounds to me like they want to talk.”

“Umm, would you mind?” she murmured back. “There’s always tomorrow night.”

“Whatever you want.”

“Pull away a bit and let me lay on my back,” she sighed and when he did, she moved and kissed him gently. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

He still lay on his side and he let his hand roam along her smooth skin as she lifted her head.

“You guys aren’t sleepy are you?” she asked.

“You mean us?” Linda asked.

“Well, yeah! Unless you snuck in a couple of the sailors or something.”

“Hey, not too loud, we’ll wake up the people downstairs,” Keri warned.

“Oops, I forgot about Dad and Trudy,” Ely answered in a stage whisper.

“Shit, that’s even louder,” Keri snorted. “Would you guys be okay with us coming over there for a few minutes?”

“Unh, I guess,” Karl grunted in surprise.

“Just a second,” Ely said loud enough for the others to hear, then whispered to Karl. “Be good now.”

He looked at her in surprise, but shifted his hand, bending to kiss Ely’s lips and getting a smile for his trouble.

“Okay, we’re decent,” she said loud enough for the others to hear.

“Huh, that’ll be the day,” Keri said softly, as she and Linda slipped out from behind the hanging sheets.

Both of them were wearing bathrobes and what Karl thought looked like pajamas under them. They came over and sat on the edge of the bed near Ely, but Karl noticed that Keri didn’t quite touch anyone.

He leaned back and relaxed as Ely began to explain to the others about the things that had happened that evening which they wouldn’t have had a chance to know about. Her voice was so gentle and relaxing that he soon found himself dozing, so although he tried to stay awake, he failed.

He did awaken later, but by then Ely was asleep and everything was very quiet. After only a few moments he fell back to sleep again.

Karl awoke to bright sunshine, but glancing out the window, he could see that it was still quite early. He slipped out of bed as quietly as he could, trying not to waken anyone. He guessed that it couldn’t be later than six. In fact it might have been earlier than that, but he could already hear a helicopter, although it didn’t seem to be coming up to land in the goat yard. He quickly took care of essentials and hurried downstairs, expecting to be the first person up and around, but when he got to the kitchen, he found Trudy already there. She must have heard him getting dressed to come down too, because she was already pouring him a cup of coffee.

“Good morning Trudy and thank you for the coffee,” he greeted her. “Did something wake you?”

“Hi Karl. Yes, I got woken up when the first helicopter came around, then Keri came down a few minutes ago. She’s out on the front porch.”

“Oh,” he paused, coffee cup in hand. “Do you think she wants to be alone?”

“Actually since she’s out on the porch and she knows your habits as well as anyone else, I think she’s expecting you. In fact, I imagine she’s out there now, because she wants to talk to you while the two of you are alone,” Trudy smiled. “Since you’re up, I’m going to go have a shower.”

“I think I left you some hot water,” Karl grinned, then headed outside.

Keri was sitting on one of the deck chairs, dressed lightly, but wrapped in a light blanket. She smiled almost apologetically. “Hi,” she whispered. “Sorry to break in on your quiet time this morning, but I’d like to talk.”

“Good morning. It’s no problem. By the way, you look a lot better today.”

“I do feel much better in some ways,” she shrugged. “But, I know I’m still touchy, partly because I feel smothered.”

“Linda?”

She nodded.

“So, establish limits,” he sighed, then his face twisted into a grin. “Remember the first winter you lived with me?”

She stared at him for a minute, then she laughed softly. “Oh Jesus, do I ever. I know I followed you around like a puppy. Was I as bad as she is?”

“You might have been. Does she follow you into the can when you want to take a dump?” He sighed.

“I didn’t do that, did I?”

“Yep, you did, once or twice,” he nodded.

“So what did you do? I don’t remember.”

“Good, that means it wasn’t too traumatic,” he smiled slightly. “All I did was sit down with you and explain that if each of us didn’t get a little time alone, we’d explode. It helped.”

“I kinda tried that,” she sighed deeply. “She just pouted, then hung around anyway, but sort of off to the side.”

“Well, she is a massage therapist, if I had more time I’d ask her to give someone a back rub. While she was busy you could go off on your own to do something else. Why don’t you ask Trudy if she could stand to have her shoulders and back worked on?”

“Oh, you mean I should give Linda something else to think about?”

“Yep, mostly though, the idea is to give her something to do. All of us have learned to share the jobs around here, so she’s probably feeling left out of things, like a fifth wheel. Say, remember the chickens and how she showed us how to candle eggs? Now that the Commander says we can safely go outside, perhaps she can help with the animals. After all she said she was a raised on a farm.”

“Oh, if we’re free to move around, could we clean out your old cabin and fix it up?”

“Mmm, I guess. Maybe you could talk some of the military guys into giving you a hand.”

“So, since we’ll need a place with a floor to temporarily store all your junk, can we use the goat shed?”

“Yeah, I suppose the goats can do without a shelter for a few days since the weather is mild. At least they don’t seem to mind the rain.”

“You need a proper barn for the animals and a building to store stuff, as well as a workshop to make it easier to work on things, don’t you?”

“Yep, one day I’ll get around to building one of each. Oh, oh, here comes someone to talk to me, I think,” he nodded his head toward a figure that was headed their way.

“Do you mind if I stay while you talk to him?” she asked.

“Nope,” he grinned and a second later called softly, “Good Morning Lyle.”

“Good Morning, sir ... I mean Karl.”

“And what’s up?”

“Well, Commander Davis would like to speak to you and ... well, I have a personal request, sir.”

“So spit it out,” Karl smiled. “The worst I can say is no.”

“Well, Commander Davis is probably going to suggest to you that he would like you to work more closely with him for a while. Scuttlebutt has it that two men will be assigned to assist you with repair and restoration work while you are working with him. If he does that, I’d appreciate it if you would consider Able Seaman LeBeaux and myself.”